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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

It's a Gas

What's It Wednesday #23

“It’s a gas”, is an old expression. In fact, it came from Irish Slang from the early 1900s that used the term “gas” to mean a joke or something fun, funny, or entertaining. The expression was later picked up by the African-American Jazz community in the 50s. Perhaps it had something to do with nitrous oxide, a.k.a "laughing gas" which has been around since the 1700's. It’s the scientist in me, I had to take a stab at it.

Do you remember my friend Sandy's beautiful antique and vintage stoves that graced her home and gardens? Click HERE if you missed that post. Well, she and her husband are collectors of Petroliana. Petroliana is the collection of things related to gas stations such as old signs, gas pumps, or fuel advertisements.

Sandy's yard is chock full of wonderfully placed vintage American gas company signs. This Gulf sign seemed to have met a few bullets in its time.

The Gulf Oil Company was a major oil company from the 1900's until the 1980's. I remember, when I was little girl, sitting in the backseat of my parent's car in the gas station watching the gas attendants pump the gas and loving the smell of gasoline. Come on, I know I am not the only one who loved that smell. Oh those were the days!

This sign was made for the Sinclair Oil Corporation which was founded my Harry F. Sinclair in 1916. "H-C" gasoline was one of the petroleum products produced by the company in the early 1920's and could be found throughout the midwestern region of the United States. H-C was one of the new high octane gasoline products of the day made for motor cars and the initials stood for "Houston Concentrate".

Talk about a walk down memory lane. Texaco (The Texas Company) is also a very well known American oil company. The company was founded in Beaumont, Texas in 1901. At that time the name was "Texas Fuel Company". Ok someone out there must remember the Texaco jingle?

In 1938, Texaco introduced a premium grade fuel they called Sky Chief. This gas was not pumped from the red pump, instead it had it's own silver gas pump. In 1954, the company added a detergent additive called "Petrox" to its "Sky Chief" gasoline. This additive helped to prevent engine knock in the newer high-compression engine cars. Hey I remember when car engines use to knock. As a kid, I thought that was a pretty cool sound. I am sure my parents did not.

My fondest memories of "service stations" was on long family road trips, where I would count the number of Exxon Tigers or Flying Red Horses of the Mobil service stations we passed.

What are your fondest memories of the gas stations of your youth?

xoxoxo

Paula

Thank you all for participating in our"What's It Wednesday"linky party!

Don't forget to grab a feature button.

WOW, each week gets harder and harder to choose six features because every entry to the linky party is so wonderful. Thank you all for all that you do to inspire others! I know I am inspired each and every week by each and every one of you.

We had a Mobil station across the street from us on the corner....the guys there were very friendly. They had an air pump there and every day we would fill our bike tires up before going to school. Our family never owned a car so we never took any trips, but love all those signs!!!

You never cease to amaze me. Each time I come here I am reminded of wonderful, childhood memories and I am completely transported back in time. WOW do these signs take me back! I live on the east coast and as a child, we would drive out west (California) to see some of our relatives every summer. My father would typically have his new Oldsmobile packed to the brim with everything we'd need for the lengthy, but marvelous trips. My mom would make sure my sister and I had plenty of small pretzels and warm coke on hand if we had a case of "motion sickness"! LOL My brother would always stretch his body out along the back seat window, just above the seat, mostly to annoy us and play some silly game. :) (Who thought of seatbelts in the late 60's??) As we'd stop in the different towns along the way and approach the small gas stations, I would try and guess which sign belonged to what town year after year. I think we saw every state & every gas station there was! :) They were the best vacations of my life. Paris, Italy...none of them compare to what I experienced on those family vacations. My kids are still young enough to enjoy such wonderful road trips. Thank you for walking me down memory lane once AGAIN. You certainly know how to warm a person's heart....Wishing you a beautiful week! xo

I love all of the vintage gas signs. The time worn colors are wonderful! My favorite things about gas stations as a child is that whenever we stopped to fill up Mom let us buy a treat or a small souvenir. Thanks for allowing us to share. Hope that my trailing flowers fits into the theme okay.Hugs,Jann

I too liked that smell, although to me it was petrol, lol. Now I cannot stand it, maybe because I am paying the bill these days! On long, boring car journeys we used to play a game where you had to guess the brand at the next petrol station!

Thank you for teaching me a new word today: I will now remember Petroliana when I see gas station memorabilia.

When I first moved here to Norway, passing a gas station was guaranteed to make me smile. Now, I am used to the INNFART (drive in) and UTFART (drive out) signs, but for me they are still more interesting than the Texaco logo.

I so enjoy my visits here! I learn something new every time!! Beautiful old signs and loved reading the history behind them. Great features this week and thanks for featuring my coca cola bottle crate wagon. Also, thanks for hosting a wonderful party, Gail

Oh my Gosh!!!!just could not believe I would be getting featured in your famous blog being just a newbie in blogland!!You make me feel like I am on top of the world right now...Was just cliking to your wednesday party and what a surprise! By the way that retro sign board pulled out and highlighted just made me smile. Linking up today with "Friday Talkies" A very big thanks and lots of hugs!!! Arani.

LOL - my first thought when I saw the Gulf sign is the bullet holes must be recent :) I remember 'gas wars' in our town where 3-4 stations on one corner would compete by lowering their prices a penny each day trying to get the most business and my dad (yeah, he's a penny-pincher!) would park early in the morning and WAIT to see whose price was the lowest, then drive over there. It was around 19 - 25 cents! Wasn't the jingle something about trusting your car to 'the man with the star, the Texaco star, the big, bright Texaco star"?

You can trust your car to the man who wears the star..the big red Texaco star....I used to sing it to my dad all the time when we would stop for gas..our closest gas station was Texaco..Love the signs..~Shirley

My favorite memories are of Sunday Afternoon Drives...we all piled into the car wondering where my dad would take us...We would have great sing a alongs, picnics and of course, stop at the gas station aka service station...as they were "service" stations...The attendant running out to your car, filling up the tank and washing your windshield and checking your water and oil!...all with a smile on their face...I miss those days...the days of the personal touch...the friendly face...now it a computer screen flashing at you...Wanting to know if you want a car wash too....

Great old signs! I remember each and every one of them. One of the things I remember best was going in and you could reach down into a cooler of cold water and pull a Coke out of there. It think it was a dime back then and a 2 cent deposit for the bottle. GREAT post-xo Diana

What a fun post Paula!... I remember all of those wonderful old signs!... and like you, I traveled the country with my family, down the old highways, there were no freeways,and loved stopping in to "fill 'er up" because we always got a soda pop!... that was such a treat in those days, not taken for granted like it is with kids nowadays... thanks for the stroll down memory lane... "it was a real gas"!... tee hee hee!... xoxo Julie Marie PS Hello Patti too!... I linked a post today as well... you gals are too much fun!

How well I remember the old filling stations we called them, I always took road trips with my Grandparents from Mt Vernon Il to Sikeston Mo and we would fill up at home then in Missouri coming home and i liked to watch the man wash the windows. I always wanted a coke and candy bar , but grandpa made me stay in the car

I know the American Pickers would like to have those signs, Frank would anyway

I love these gas station signs. I remeber getting a big red and white Texazo truck for my 5th birthday! I loved trucks back then...still do! And in the '60's my father worked at a Sinclair gas station and I remember him bringing home a green toy Brontosaurus. I had thought that Sinclair folded years ago but it wasn't until 2004 when my husband and I were out west that I realized they were still alive and well. So many memories were brought back when I saw the old Sinclair dinosaur! Super post as usual...have a great week!

Those sign truly where a walk down memory lane for me. I too remember those days when the attendant came out and pumped your gas, washed your windows and quite a few of the stations gave away premiums for buying your gas with them.In fact I still have a set of glassware I got from the Phillips 66 station near me when I was a teen - Mom & Dad let me keep everything they got for my hope chest.

My dad used to work for Sinclair oil Refinery in East Chicago, Indiana. I was always embarrassed because at the start of every school year he came home with a box of green Sinclair pencils for my brother and I to use. I wanted plain old yellow ones so bad. But recently I cam across an unused box of those pencils among my parents things and I was glad he still had some left. Not that I'll ever use them/

Great post, Paula! What a trip down memory lane! Yes, I remember those signs, especially Gulf Oil. I'm with you - I liked the smell of it, I think because I knew it meant we were going on a trip! How fun!Cindy

Love the gas station signs. I remember the big Pegasus horse above a very tall building in Midland, Texas when I was a very small child. I sure miss those full service stations... very rare now!Love your blog.KarenLadybug Creek

I'm so glad you told us that you love the smell of gasoline...me too! Everyone thought I was crazy. But I knew...it was wonderful!! I also love the smell of mothballs!! My grandmother's house smelled like that, so every time I smell it, I'm reminded of her. My sister and I usually laid on the floor board divided by the drive shaft...and sometimes it got sooo hot there! Then we'd move to the seat or I'd lay in the window and watch the phone/electric lines bob up and down as we sped down the road. Being frugal, our family did not spend money on cokes or goodies...ever...but the occasional car wash was a treat. We'd sit in the back seat and make sure the windows were rolled up tight, then as mom drove slowly through the was we'd scream and scream! It was a blast!! Thanks for such an interesting post. It's always so fun to come by and see what y'all are up to!blessings, Doni

Hi PaulaWhat a great walk down memory lane with the old signs... Great post.Thank you so much for your most welcome visit and kind words about Coco.. I love all that you have featured here today.Enjoy your week.Blessings,Penny

Oh wow! I do so love signs, especially with the bullet holes. Such a great collection. I love the gas station stories and have many fond memories from road trips as a child. I think that's why seeing the lot of them is so fun. Thank you. I'm new to your blog. Hope you'll stop by my place sometime when you have a chance! I'm late to the party, but I'm glad to be here.

Hi lovely lady.I love all your Beautiful Singns. I also have the 66 one in my garage on the wall... Thanks so much for hosting your linky party.I hope you have a wonderful weekend with your family.XXOO Diane

Thanks for the invite :) I am all linked up and can't wait to visit the other blogs. I have a Creative Thursday Link Party and would love for you to stop by and link up too. www.michellestastycreations.blogspot.com. Have a great weekend.

Oh dearest, I had no idea you came to visit as I just posted a very DULL post letting my readers know I would be back next week. I am having photo issues and was not able to load up what I wanted. THANK YOU SO MUCH for your gracious comments! Oh how I love the students but I guess I do not have what it takes to stick it out. I do think however, at least I am going by faith here, that OUR GOD has allowed me to teach for a short time but other doors are opening for me to at least VENTURE OUT. It will be hard, but God is with us even in the decisions we make that may not turn out. Who knows?

YOU ARE SOOOOOO KIND and these images bring me fond memories of childhood, living in L.A.

My goodness, do I love learning from you!YES! I loved the smell of gasoline growing up...and road trips were some of my best memories.I feel sad, though, for the mom and pop gas stations going out of business. Another one just shut down near our home...Thank you for an always enlightening post, dear Paula..xoxo,- Irina

The Ladies of Ivy and Elephants

We are Moms, dreamers, visionaries, and creators. Our love for all things vintage and Victorian is evident throughout our homes. We are passionate about our families, friends, food, and fabulous finds. We are Ivy & Elephants.